crate engine vs rebuild

[04scooby]

im sorry if i sound dumb but i have my eclipse GSX and im looking into either a rebuild or buying a crate engine for it. Im lost as to which way would be easier and cheaper...

i have looked around and the cheapest rebuild in my area (Tulsa to be more specific) it was $1250 with me pulling the engine and taking to them. (i dont have anyone that can pull the engine for me and i sure as heck dont see myself attempting it... ) and $2500 if i just brought the car to them and they pulled it and installed it...

does anyone near me here in Northern Oklahoma or even around southern Kansas like the Wichita area know of any decent places to get an engine rebuilt for a decent amt(like under $1500 w/out me having to find someone to pull the engine)?

or a good site that has decent engines that are either crate or have been rebuilt? im just needing to get my car up and running asap so i can actually start driving since gas is going up and up every time i turn around and my full size chevy isnt cutting it in the gas world right now...

i appriciate any help or information you guys can throw at me here...

Thanks again
Kera

 

[keymaster]

http://www.karking.com
http://www.slowboyracing.com
http://www.buschurracing.com

That should keep you buys for a few minutes.

 

[andytalon]

If you want good work, www.ffwdconnection.com is the way to go, in my opinion they are best you can get. They do the best work! If I lived near you I would love to help pull it but to bad I don't Good luck anyway, It isn't really that bad to take the motor out. But, best wishs bro!

 

[andytalon]

-What are your goals? plain street car, track car, street/strip???
-FFWd is great for customer service, give them a call can tell them just what you are looking for and they can hook you up with what you would need.
-If you plan on rebuilding, I guess you could find a shop around you and pay all that money, and probebly in the end (if you dont do the work) end up paying as much as you would for a crete motor.

You can rebuild the motor while it is in the car but in my opinion its stupid, you wont be able to get everything torqued to spec, so little of space, but with the motor out everything is very easy to reach. Personally my 2 cents, just pull the damn thing, either get a crete or rebuild it.

im sorry if i sound dumb but i have my eclipse GSX and im looking into either a rebuild or buying a crate engine for it. Im lost as to which way would be easier and cheaper...

i have looked around and the cheapest rebuild in my area (Tulsa to be more specific) it was $1250 with me pulling the engine and taking to them. (i dont have anyone that can pull the engine for me and i sure as heck dont see myself attempting it... ) and $2500 if i just brought the car to them and they pulled it and installed it...

does anyone near me here in Northern Oklahoma or even around southern Kansas like the Wichita area know of any decent places to get an engine rebuilt for a decent amt(like under $1500 w/out me having to find someone to pull the engine)?

or a good site that has decent engines that are either crate or have been rebuilt? im just needing to get my car up and running asap so i can actually start driving since gas is going up and up every time i turn around and my full size chevy isnt cutting it in the gas world right now...

i appriciate any help or information you guys can throw at me here...

Thanks again
Kera

 

[seajay2525]

Well, it seems that the $2500 for your local shop is your cheapest and easiest solution. You could purchase a manual for your car and do some reading to prep yourself for the engine removal on your own. If you have any friends that have any mechanical skills recruit them to do it for you. That way you could save a $1000 or so. If you love your car enough you should attempt it on your own. It could turn out to be a great learning experience and save you money on labor. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[04scooby]

well, im looking at sorta a daily driver/play around car. i have a evo3 16G turbo in it so im looking at something i can mess around with a bit.

i have checked out all those sites and well, i dont have that much cash to spare... :S
i have about $1500 to spare on getting either a crate engine or a rebuild. i want something i know i can rely on a quite a bit for my main vehicle.

and i have some ppl but getting them recruited to do something like that would be a hassle...
my bf probably would help but with just me and him, i dont think we have the power..
i guess ill have to kinda look around for the best place bc the closest place is probably about an hour drive. the place that is actually closest too me i found out doesnt do the small export engine types... :S

and i also have the Chilton's manual to the car but i dont have exactly the time or anything... :S

thanks for the help. any information would help a girl out in getting this done the best and cheapest way, is MUCH appriciated...

 

[andytalon]

mind me asking whats wrong with your current engine?

 

[04scooby]

basically it is that the engine had a half ass rebuild and the guy i bought it from said that all that was needing to be done was just some little hookups like vacuum lines, and getting a new turbo since the 14b that was on it was cracked. well, come to find out, out of the total 30mins or longer that is ran while we were trying to fix it(turbo was off so i couldnt hear anything that was going on) there was no oil going to the top of the engine. so i am just going to go ahead and just get it rebuilt and get it done correctly...

 

[1gcrazy]

Why not just do the head? The heads easy.

 

[04scooby]

im afraid that if i just do that and not the whole top side of the engine, only God knows what that man did to the engine, whether it be incorrect or just something he didnt install that is highly needed. :S
and then i will have more problems on my hands. i thought about having someone just look at it but i just cant find anyone that is actually close enough that i can haul it over to and have them look at it or come to my place and look at it and listen to it and see what they think...

i guess that is what i get for living in a small a$$ town...

 

[luvmygst]

im afraid that if i just do that and not the whole top side of the engine, only God knows what that man did to the engine, whether it be incorrect or just something he didnt install that is highly needed. :S
and then i will have more problems on my hands. i thought about having someone just look at it but i just cant find anyone that is actually close enough that i can haul it over to and have them look at it or come to my place and look at it and listen to it and see what they think...

i guess that is what i get for living in a small a$$ town...

THe head is the whole top of the motor. I would get someone to check it out for you before you go buying a motor. Eliminate all options before you spend all your money.

 

[i1nk83]

Go to the local repair shops and ask them who they recomend to do machine work. They will know who does the best machine work. Go to the place recomended and ask them how much to assemble the bottom end and the head, not actually putting them together. Then all you would have to do would be to put the block in the car and put the head on it. this should come out to around your 1500 goal. Or if all else fails buy one of the supercool jdm tyte injuns and throw it in.

 

[04scooby]

i can do that if i can find someone that has knowledge about DSM engines or similar so i can get an accurate evaluation

ill have to do some checking then...
thx

 

[Big28 2gFWD]

i can do that if i can find someone that has knowledge about DSM engines or similar so i can get an accurate evaluation

ill have to do some checking then...
thx

see the site you are currently on? there's 1000's on here with info to help u with ## swap, look man im assuming that u could do the swap urself with the help of your buddy but you're letting your lack of experience stand in your way...use your chilton's and rip that sucker out take it to the best shop within your price range, have it assembled and drop it back in yourself any problems along the way? just post...alot of us have been there before, i highly doubt you are going to run into a problem that no one on this site has been through before..
good luck man

 

[04scooby]

well, i am pretty sure i could, but i prefer not to for the fact that i dont really have the time...
i did find someone that has a shop and would do the rebuild for $600-$800 and that is also with him coming and picking my car up for me to have it rebuilt. so i am probably just going to go that way.

and thanks for all the advice.

one more thing, PLEASE quit calling me man and dude. im a female and i know this profile is my bf's but he gave it to me since he owns a subaru and wouldnt let me create my own profile so i just took this one over...

thanks

 

[chrisfullwood]

where abouts do you live, my machine shop that i use specialise in rebuilding engines, he did all the machine work on my engine, is very affordable and knows what he's talking about.
im sure he could work something out on getting a vehicle hauled to look at if you wanted.
i live in bartlesville, ok and he lives pretty close on the outskirts of town.

i just completly rebuilt my turbo galant (same motor as yours) there pretty easy, but there are some things that you wont know about till you tear it apart. that can easily make it very expensive.
quick example, he bored out my engine, honed it, polished the crankshaft, magnafluxed it and got me new pistons/rings, put the pistons and rods together for me, for like $250 including the cost for the new pistons/rings. he also picked up and delivered the engine to me. like i said very affordable.